Towards Maturity urges organisations to put evidence at the heart of corporate learning strategies
The 2015 Towards Maturity Benchmark enables L&D professionals to gather data on current learning activities to help shape future success.
Towards Maturity launches the 2015 Towards Maturity Benchmark, Europe’s largest, most comprehensive independent study of corporate learning.
Now in its 12th year, the Benchmark gathers data from hundreds of L&D professionals to identify the most effective L&D practices. The study first started in 2003 and since then Towards Maturity has analysed data from more than 3,500 organisations and 16,000 learners around the globe.
The Benchmark Study enables L&D professionals to review their current learning strategy against those of top performing learning organisations. The Benchmark is free to participate in and takes 60 minutes to complete first time around.
The study is the only one of its kind - providing an opportunity to reflect on issues that are relevant to delivering and designing a modernised learning strategy including:
- Aligning learning to business need and delivering business outcomes
- Understanding the modern day learner as customer
- Supporting workplace performance and collaboration
- Demonstrating value
- Harnessing technology to deliver results
Learning and performance expert Charles Jennings, said: "Work is becoming more complex. We also work in teams and rely on others to get our work done more than ever before. Increasingly, research is demonstrating that experiential and social learning are extremely important elements in how high performance develops, which is why L&D professionals need new ways of understanding what works best in their organisation. The Towards Maturity Benchmark does just that by providing independent evidence on what works and what doesn’t. There is no doubt participating organisations will be better equipped to make the right decisions about future learning strategy and practices when they have the right data on which to act.”
Andy Lancaster, Head of Learning and Development at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, commented: “Benchmarking is an incredibly valuable process to go through as it enables L&D professionals to reflect on their activities, identify which learning initiatives are effective and consider where further investment should be made. It’s also a practical way for organisations to identify where improvements can be made, based on the success of their own activities and how top performing organisations are operating.
“Crucially, benchmarking provides clear evidence which can help to influence internal stakeholders, enabling L&D professionals to change strategy and gain resources for new initiatives.”
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said: “In our agile and rapidly changing world, L&D professionals have to identify effective practice that works for them in their organisation.
“For too long, L&D professionals have reported very traditional benchmarks such as time, cost and completion rates, which do not position them as agile, flexible and truly supportive of business outcomes. That’s why over the last 12 years we have been establishing new, trusted benchmarks that will take L&D into the future instead of strangling them in the past.
“Benchmarking is about gathering the right evidence that enables you to make great decisions in a fast changing world for you, your team, your learners and your business.”
By taking part in this confidential study, participants will be sent a free Personalised Benchmark Report™ in September (value £300), which contains an in-depth analysis of their unique Towards Maturity Index™ – a measure of how the organisation is performing against others in the study. Evidence-based, personalised feedback will highlight priority action areas to support L&D strategy development.
L&D professionals can participate in the benchmark at:
www.towardsmaturity.org/benchmark
The Towards Maturity 2015 Benchmark Study is free to participants thanks to the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme which is made up of leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.
The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes strategic partner CIPD, the founding Ambassadors: Brightwave, Learning Technologies, LEO, Successfactors, The Corporate eLearning Consortium and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus Acteon, City and Guilds: Kineo, DPG plc, eCom Scotland, Lumesse, GoodPractice, Kallidus, KPMG, Kydon, Raytheon Professional Services, Redware, Saba Software, Skillsoft, Speexx and Sponge UK.
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Notes to Editors
Additional information about the 2015 Towards Maturity Benchmark study can be downloaded at www.towardsmaturity.org/2015benchmark
Laura Overton is available for interview
The press release may be re-produced in full but with a link back to the original source.